A Chance to Forgive
by Falling Snow of Flowers
Summary: Semi AU. She was a jounin who hunts down missing nin. He was a missing nin who has returned home. And they are bound by a certain little girl who can pass as his little sister. SasuSaku.
1. Chapter 1

Author's words: Hi there. This is the first time I've made a fanfic, so please go easy on me. I'll accept both flames and reviews, though. Thanks for taking your time to read this fanfic of mine. Ja ne.  
  
Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto. Naruto belongs to the great Kishimoto Masashi-sensei, so please don't sue me.  
  
Author's note: Some of the '-'s stands for '. . .'  
  
A Chance to Forgive  
  
Chapter One  
  
Somewhere in one of the remote forests of the Five Great Shinobi countries, a battle between two ninjas was fought. Well, let's just say that the battle was about to end, for one of the ninjas had a kunai pointed only a centimeter away from the other ninja's face.  
  
The cornered ninja was a young man in his early twenties, who had messy black hair and crazy black eyes. He looked bewilderedly at the Hunter- Nin in front of him, saying, "Well, aren't you going to kill me?"  
  
The Hunter-Nin was silent and a few moments passed by before the man again said, "Well? What are you waiting for?!"  
  
Suddenly the Hunter-Nin did something which he didn't expect at all. She lowered her kunai and took off her mask, sending tresses of her light- pink hair down to frame her lovely face that had beautiful jade-green eyes.  
  
While he was in shock at what she had done, she said in a soft voice, "I'm not a Hunter-Nin, so I can't kill you."  
  
The man finally found his voice and said, "Then why are you wearing that mask?"  
  
"I was told to wear it."  
  
"Then what are you?"  
  
"I'm a Jounin-who hunts down Missing-Nin."  
  
The man's eyes widened. "You-you're-"  
  
"If you're going to say 'The one who took my partner away', then the answer is yes."  
  
The man's eyes instantly flared with anger. "You poisoned him! You destroyed him and made him become goody-goody!"  
  
"Would you rather if I had killed him instead of letting him live?"  
  
The man immediately became silent and only glared at her.  
  
Suddenly, she outstretched her hand towards him. "If you don't want to die, then come with me."  
  
A few moments passed by before he outstretched his hand as well to accept hers. But that wasn't his only intention, for he immediately turned her around and clasped both of her wrists as soon as he had touched her hand.  
  
He let out a hideous laugh, saying triumphantly, "Hah! You fell for it, you stupid girl!"  
  
"Actually, you're the one who fell for it," her voice, which came from behind him, said.  
  
"What the-," he said as he turned his head around only to have his nose meet the sharp tip of her kunai.  
  
The clone in his grasp instantly disappeared as she said, smiling, "I knew you were going to do that, so that's why I replaced myself with a clone."  
  
"Didn't you say that you wanted me to come with you?"  
  
"I did," she said, lowering her kunai. "On one condition: you have to trust me."  
  
He laughed, saying, "Hah! I trust you right now and later when we reach the village 'Pang!' my head will go bye-bye!"  
  
"Trust me, that you won't happen."  
  
He looked at her hesitantly but she knew that his will to run was getting weak. "How can I make sure that you won't betray me?"  
  
He expected her to say, "Trust me," again, but that was a far whisper from what she actually did.  
  
She used her kunai to mark a long scar on her hand. "Because I swear that on this scar I've made, that I won't let anyone kill you."  
  
She didn't even hesitate nor winch in pain while she had done that, and that was what had made him now look at her with a totally different light, mouth gaping open.  
  
She outstretched her bleeding hand towards him, asking, "Now do you trust me?"  
  
He nodded solemnly and accepted her hand.  
  
*  
  
Hours later-  
  
"I now hereby announce that this man, Yamato Taicho, a former Missing- Nin, to be excused for his crimes and to work as a Jounin from now on. Case dismissed."  
  
The rustling of chairs was heard as Sakura walked towards him and gave him a hug, saying, "Congratulations, Yamato-san! You're now free!"  
  
He pulled her away from him and said, "All thanks to you, Sakura- san."  
  
"You don't have to thank me, Yamato-san," she said, smiling sincerely at him. "Helping others is my duty."  
  
"I'm sorry to have bothered you," he said, looking guiltily at her bandaged hand.  
  
"That's alright." She looked at him squarely in the eye. "You'd better take care of yourself, you hear me?"  
  
He nodded and then went over to his friend after saying good-bye and thanks to her again.  
  
Just then, Sakura felt a hand grasping her shoulder. "This case has got to be the shortest one you're responsible for, Saku-chan."  
  
Sakura turned around and smiled at Tsunade, saying, "That means I'm getting better at this aren't I?"  
  
Tsunade nodded. "I guess you are."  
  
Suddenly, she said, "Say, why don't you take a month off? You've been working endlessly up till now, so you're in need of a vacation."  
  
"Well-," Sakura began to say hesitantly.  
  
"It'll be a good chance for the other Jounins to have their chance to do your job," Tsunade pressed on.  
  
Sakura sighed in defeat and said, "Ok then, I'll take your offer. Thanks, Tsunade-san."  
  
"It's my pleasure, Sakura-san."  
  
As Sakura excused herself and exited the room, Tsunade thought, 'We really need more Jounins like her around-'  
  
*  
  
Sakura decided to take a walk through the forest where Kakashi-sensei had always trained the three of them back seven years ago.  
  
She sighed, thinking, 'I wonder what Kakashi-sensei is doing right now-.'  
  
Instantly, an image of him reading his 'Come Come Paradise' book intently formed in her mind.  
  
She let out an exasperated sigh, rolling her eyes and thinking, 'What else would he be doing, if not that?!'  
  
She continued to walk on, stretching her arms. 'I wonder where Naruto is right now? I hope he's alright-.'  
  
An image of him eating all the ramen in a restaurant formed in her mind. 'I bet he's eating at a ramen restaurant, somewhere-I sure pity the owner.'  
  
(Note: Naruto also went on a journey not long after Sasuke did, so he won't be appearing in this fanfic at all.)  
  
Her steps slowed down as she sighed yet again, thinking, 'And-I wonder where Sasuke-kun is and what he's doing right now-.'  
  
An image of him training intensely at one of the remote forests somewhere in the Five Great Shinobi Countries, formed in her mind.  
  
'That's right-he's probably training himself right now-.'  
  
Memories which she had shared with him during the past flashed in her mind. All those times she'd spent with him-and still she couldn't melt the ice surrounding his heart.  
  
'It's amazing-that after all these years I still love him-,' she thought. 'I guess that's what love is like-.'  
  
'I wonder what his reaction would be like if I told him that I still love him-,' she continued to wonder. 'I bet he wouldn't believe me-.'  
  
Suddenly, she stopped walking, for she heard a soft, almost faint, sobbing sound coming from right beside the route which she was walking on.  
  
She looked down over the bushes along the route to find an adorable little girl, who had shoulder-length black hair and who looked about five years old, look at her with wet, large onyx eyes that threatened to melt her heart.  
  
'She looks a lot like Sasuke-kun!' she thought as she watched the little girl back away until her back touched the trunk of a tree near her. 'Heck, she can practically be his little sister!'  
  
She went through the bushes and kneeled in front of the frightened little girl, saying in a soothing tone, "Hi there."  
  
The girl only stared back at her.  
  
"Are you lost?"  
  
Sakura received more staring and silence from the little girl.  
  
"Where are your parents? I'll take you to them."  
  
"-you can't take me to them."  
  
"And why's that?"  
  
"They-they're both in Heaven," she replied stiffly, pain reflected clearly in her seemingly emotionless eyes.  
  
Sakura's eyes widened instantly. "Oh-sorry, I didn't know."  
  
"-that's ok."  
  
A few moments passed by again before Sakura finally said, "I'm Sakura. What's your name?"  
  
"-Chii."  
  
"That's a cute name you have there, Chii!" Sakura exclaimed as she stretched up. "Well, Chii, there's no use staying here, so why don't you come with me?"  
  
Chii stared at her blankly. "-come-with you?"  
  
Sakura nodded.  
  
"-but-," Chii began to say hesitantly.  
  
"I won't take no for an answer, you know," Sakura said, bending down at the waist to offer her hand towards her. "Even if you say no, I'll still drag you home with me."  
  
The girl bit her lip hesitantly, but she accepted Sakura's hand after she remained in that pose for a solid five minutes.  
  
It was at that moment that their wheel of fate had begun to turn-  
  
Author's words: How was it? I hope it was okay. Don't forget to send me a review if you like it. And I've got to apologize that Sasuke hasn't appeared yet. He'll be appearing quite soon, so don't worry. Ja ne. 


	2. Chapter 2

Author's words:  
  
To: Love From Vikky  
  
I won't tell you who Chii is (gomenne!) because that'll spoil the suspense. Sasuke doesn't have a kid. I'll give you a clue though; Chii and Sasuke are blood-related.  
  
To: Chelsey-chan  
  
Arigato for the compliment, Chelsey-chan!  
  
To: daydreamer5290  
  
Arigato for the compliment. Hah?! Is there really someone who's OOC?! I didn't realize-who is it?! Tell me, onegai!! Um, what does 'kewl' mean? No, that girl isn't Sasuke's sister, but she is from their clan, though. I'm sorry, but I couldn't manage to deliver a cherry on top of this chapter for you! Please forgive me!  
  
To: kokorodragon  
  
I'll continue it, so don't worry, kokorodragon-san (what do you want me to call you, by the way?)!  
  
To: Neko-Vixen  
  
SAKURA RULES! Arigato for saying that this fanfic of mine sounds good. Well, you don't have to wait anymore, because the next chapter's already here!  
  
To: Minna  
  
Arigato for reviewing and did I update soon enough or not like you guys wanted me too? Because if I didn't update as soon as you guys wanted me to, then you're free to lecture me!  
  
Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto. Naruto belongs to the great Kishimoto Masashi-sensei, so please don't sue me! (I'm broke T_T)  
  
Author's note: Some of the '-'s stand for '. . .'  
  
A Chance to Forgive  
  
Chapter Two  
  
Sakura had Chii's small hand in hers as she led her back home. They weren't talking, but the atmosphere wasn't silent either, since Sakura was humming a quite catchy tune.  
  
"Sakura-san, where are we going?" Chii suddenly asked with that soft, shy voice of hers.  
  
"Home," Sakura replied simply. "And Chii-chan?"  
  
"Yes, Sakura-san?"  
  
"Can you please call me Saku-neechan from now on? Because to me, Sakura-san sounds too formal-."  
  
"Ok-."  
  
"What do you want me to call you?" Sakura suddenly asked.  
  
"Just Chii-chan is ok-," Chii replied quietly as a blush spread over her cute cheeks.  
  
Sakura couldn't help expressing a smile. Chii was so shy, it was cute!  
  
She turned away from Chii and looked straight at the setting sun in front of them as she continued to hum the catchy tune she'd been humming a few minutes ago. At the same time, she thought, 'I wonder if she really is related to Sasuke-kun or not-.'  
  
She sighed heavily, thinking, 'I wish Sasuke-kun was here-.'  
  
"Daijobu deska, Sakura-neechan?" Chii's voice broke Sakura's thoughts.  
  
She looked down at the concerned little girl, a reassuring smile on her face. "I'm alright, Chii-chan, so don't worry." She lifted her head back to look at the setting sun again. "I was just-thinking-about someone-."  
  
"Is it Sakura-neechan's boyfriend?"  
  
Sakura nearly tripped over her own feet when she heard Chii say those words. A huge sweat-drop formed at the back of her head as she thought, 'Still this young and already knows the word 'boyfriend'?! Sheesh! Kids these days-.'  
  
"Gomenne," Chii suddenly apologized.  
  
Sakura arched an eyebrow as she asked, "What for, Chii-chan?"  
  
"When Sakura-neechan didn't answer Chii-chan's question, Chii-chan thinks that Sakura-neechan is angry at Chii-chan, that's why Chii-chan says sorry."  
  
Sakura stopped and knelt in front of Chii, a hand placed on her rosy cheek. "Chii-chan, I'm not angry at you. Doesn't mean that I don't reply your question immediately means I'm mad at you, ok?"  
  
Chii nodded solemnly.  
  
"That someone I was thinking of-," Sakura resumed to her original position. "Is someone I really miss so it took me awhile to answer you question, Chii- chan."  
  
"Why does Sakura-neechan miss that person?"  
  
"Because he went on a journey, Chii-chan-," Sakura explained. "He left this village seven years ago and never came back."  
  
"Oh-," Chii said and it was the end of their conversation as they'd already reached Sakura's house.  
  
"Well, here we are!" Sakura said, indicating her house. "It's not much, but its home!"  
  
Chii stared at the house for awhile before saying, "It looks really homely- ."  
  
"It does, doesn't it?" Sakura said proudly. She laid a hand on Chii's head, saying, "You wait here for awhile 'till I take you in, ok?"  
  
Chii nodded, making her hair bop up and down cutely.  
  
"Tadaima!" Sakura shouted as soon as she entered her house and took off her sandals.  
  
Sakura's okaa-san's voice from the kitchen could be heard saying, "Welcome home, dear!" while from the living room, Sakura's otou-san called out, "Welcome back home, Saku-chan!"  
  
Sakura poked her head into the living room. "Otou-san, I want to discuss something with you and okaa-san at kitchen right now, is that ok?"  
  
"Of course, my little cheery blossom," he said and went off to the kitchen while Sakura went back to Chii.  
  
Once at the kitchen, Sakura said, "Otou-san, okaa-san, I want you both to meet Chii."  
  
"Chii?" both her parents chorused.  
  
"Yes, Chii."  
  
A few seconds of silence passed by before Sakura's otou-san said, "Well, I don't see anyone here, Sakura."  
  
It was just then that Sakura realized that Chii was hiding behind her. She stepped aside and laid a hand on Chii's shoulder. "This is Chii. Chii, these are my parents."  
  
"Aww, she's so pretty!" Sakura's okaa-san immediately remarked as Sakura's otou-san asked, "Why'd you introduce her so formerly to us, honey?"  
  
"Well, that's because-," Sakura began and she explained and told the whole story form A to Z.  
  
"So, can she stay with us until her relatives are found?" Sakura asked immediately after she finished telling the story.  
  
"Of course she can stay!" Sakura's okaa-san exclaimed. "I won't let a poor child like her alone out there, right, honey?" she added as she turned to her husband, who nodded, saying, "You bet."  
  
"Well, Chii-chan, what do you say? Do you want to stay with us for awhile until we find your relatives?" Sakura asked.  
  
Chii nodded, murmuring a soft "Thank you-."  
  
"There's no need to thank us, Chii-chan," Sakura's otou-san said as he laid his hand on top of her head gently.  
  
"Otou-san's right, Chii honey," Sakura's mom pipes in.  
  
"Helping others in need is the best thing to do," Sakura explains to a clueless Chii. "That's why-there's no need to say thank you."  
  
"Oh-," Chii said, as a blush spread over her cheeks as Sakura's otou- san gave her a peck on the cheek and a hug. This was this thing she'd missed the most-the feeling of being wanted. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- ----------------------------  
  
It has been a week since then. The adopting of Chii by the Harunos had spread quickly in only one day, especially since Sakura herself was so popular and Chii was considered so cute and too mature for her age.  
  
That afternoon, after going shopping for Chii's new clothes (none of Sakura's old ones really fitted her, so-), Sakura took Chii along a different route from the one they usually used to go back home, which made Chii ask her, "Sakura-neechan, where are we going?"  
  
"To a friend's house," Sakura simply replied.  
  
Soon, they reach Sasuke's house. Sakura did a short jutsu with one hand, making her finger turn into a key, which she used to unlock the front door.  
  
Chii was surprised that Sakura did that and was just about to ask her why she did so, but when she entered the house too, she immediately understood why Sakura did just that.  
  
The house was so eerily quiet and there was a lot of dust and cobwebs around.  
  
"Sakura-neechan, where is your friend?" Chii asked, looking around.  
  
"Chii-chan, do you still remember about the friend I was talking about when we first met?"  
  
Chii nodded, although she still didn't getting the point.  
  
"Well-this is his house."  
  
"Oh-then why are we here?"  
  
"Every month, I come by here to clean this place up."  
  
"Oh-did he ask you to?"  
  
"Well, no-."  
  
"Then why do you clean for him?"  
  
"As I mentioned before, he's on a very tough journey right now, so when he comes back, I want him to feel comfortable, that's why I clean for him."  
  
"Oh-so he really is Sakura-neechan's special someone, right?"  
  
Sakura immediately blushed as Chii continued on, "Mama always told me that a person would do anything for his or her special someone, even if that person doesn't ask to. So, is he Sakura-neechan's special someone?" Chii asked again.  
  
Sakura smiled as the blush on her face deepened and said, "Yes, he is-."  
  
"But how come he is not always with Sakura-neechan?"  
  
"Well-I'm not really his special someone, Chii-chan."  
  
"How come?"  
  
"Listen here, Chii-chan," Sakura said as she kneeled in front of her (This seems to be her favorite posture) and looked straight into her eyes. "The person we love doesn't always love us, ok?"  
  
Chii nodded and Sakura stood up straight again, saying, "Alrighty then, let's start cleaning!" But she stopped in the middle of her sentence because she suddenly felt aura coming from Sasuke's kitchen.  
  
"Sakura-neechan, what's wrong?"  
  
Sakura placed a finger to her lips, signaling for her to shush and mouthed the words "Stay here," to her. Swiftly but silently, Sakura made her way to the kitchen, a kunai positioned in her hand. She was about to throw it just as she entered the kitchen but immediately stopped herself when she saw someone lying face-down in front of the opened back door.  
  
She immediately rushed to the obviously injured man's side, shaking him roughly and saying, "Sir, are you alright?! Sir?!"  
  
The stranger slowly turned his head to look at her and at that moment, weak onyx eyes clashed with shocked emerald ones.  
  
Sakura's heart skipped a beat. The stranger was Sasuke!  
  
"Sa-ku-ra.," he managed to wheeze out before losing consciousness. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- -----------------------------  
  
Author's words : How was it? Was it alright? I hope it was. Don't forget to send me a review if you like it! Arigato for reading this fanfic of mine and ja ne. 


	3. Chapter 3

Author's words:  
  
To: Love From Vikky ~ This chapter will tell you what the hell happened to Sasuke, the 'weakling.'  
  
To: Chelsey-chan ~ Yep, Chii-chan is extremely cute! No, she's not Itachi's daughter. Arigato for saying that this chapter's great. Read this chapter and you'll find out if Sasuke is alright or not.  
  
To: arisu-sama ~ This chapter will tell you if he's ok or not. Who's Kabuto? I'll keep writing. Yes, this is going to be a Sasusaku. Arigato for saying that this sounds interesting.  
  
To: Shy-Lil-Dreamer ~ Chii and Sasuke know each other. By the way, I love your name! ^_^  
  
To: ShinobiSpirit ~ Arigato for the compliment.  
  
To: vivian ~ Arigato for saying that its great! ^-^  
  
To: daydreamer5290 ~ O.o Oh, so that's what kewl means-I lub Chii-chan too! Sasuke/Sakura fics do rule! And yeah, Sasuke is damn hot!  
  
To: X-Cry-Death (too lazy to login) ~ Of course he came back! I hope this fic of mine turns out good too- Hehehe. Chii-chan is famous even in the real world!  
  
To: Neko-Vixen ~ This chapter will tell you what happened to Sasuke. Yep, Chii is cute! And GO SAKURA (Again)!  
  
To: kokorodragon ~ Ok, then I'll be calling you Koko-chan! ^_^ I hope you don't mind!  
  
Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto. Naruto belongs to the great Kishimoto Masashi-sensei, so please don't sue me! (I'm broke T_T)  
  
Author's note: Some of the '-'s stand for '. . .'  
  
A Chance to Forgive  
  
Chapter 3  
  
A young man about twenty years of age with spiky black hair opened his onyx eyes to find himself staring at the color white- and only white.  
  
Sasuke sat up, rubbing the back of his head almost automatically. 'Where am I?' he wondered as he gazed around his surroundings, which were all (not surprisingly) white. 'What the heck is this place?'  
  
Suddenly, he heard a voice coming from behind him. A voice which he'd last heard seven years ago-  
  
Sakura's voice.  
  
He immediately turned around to look behind him and in an instant, his jaw dropped open in shock at what he saw.  
  
About a hundred feet away from him was Sakura and Itachi walking hand- in-hand.  
  
He immediately jumped up, a thousand thoughts going through his head. 'What is he doing here?! And what the heck is she doing with him?!'  
  
He started walking to the both of them, who didn't seem to have noticed him, coolly, as though he saw them both like that everyday, whereas in reality, his heart and mind shrieked louder than banshees.  
  
He was only a few feet away from them when he suddenly crashed into something like an invisible wall.  
  
"Ouch-," he muttered as he rubbed his forehead. He placed both of his hands on the wall, and punched it, but it didn't break.  
  
'What is this god damned wall?!' he thought.  
  
It was at that moment that Sakura and Itachi turned around, walking to the left, as if they knew that the invisible wall was there.  
  
"Sakura!" Sasuke shouted, feeling desperate. "Sakura, it's me, Sasuke!"  
  
But Sakura didn't even turn around to look at him and kept talking to Itachi. A heavy mist surrounded them, blocking them entirely from Sasuke's view, but not before he saw his brother look back at him directly with a smirk on his face.  
  
Sasuke woke up sweating all over as he stared at the familiar ceiling of the Konoha Village hospital.  
  
'What does that stupid dream mean?' he wondered as he tried to sit up, but failed, for something heavy was dragging him down.  
  
He turned his head at his right to find Sakura sleeping with her head and arms on his hospital gown and bed.  
  
He almost didn't recognize her, but the unique, light-pink hair she possessed couldn't be mistaken.  
  
'She looks really different,' he thought, watching her breath in and out softly. 'Almost like a different person-'  
  
He pulled the part of his hospital gown which she was sleeping on top of slowly from under her. It took him awhile, since she kept flinching. But after he successfully got it away from under her, he quietly got out of the bed.  
  
He was going to go to the window, to look at the outside surroundings, but he decided to delay his plan when he saw how uncomfortable Sakura looked in that position of hers.  
  
He knelt down beside her, placing an arm under her knees and another behind her back as he lifted her up and placed her gently on the hospital bed, covering her with the thick hospital blanket.  
  
Suddenly, Sakura's lips formed into a smile, "Thank you, Sasuke-kun, but no thanks."  
  
Sasuke knew from the tone of her voice that she wasn't talking in her sleep. "You were awake all this time?!" he said in a tone that was clearly disbelieved.  
  
Sakura opened one of her jade-colored eyes. "Yep!" She sat up. "By the way, hi, Sasuke-kun!"  
  
He murmured a slightly grumpy, "Hello, Sakura."  
  
Sasuke saw her shake her head of pink tresses. "You still haven't changed, Sasuke-kun."  
  
She got off the bed and did something he didn't expect at all-she pushed him gently onto the bed, making him lying down and covered him quickly with the hospital blanket.  
  
"You still need to rest, you know," Sakura said before he could say anything. "The doctor says you'll need about another four days' stay in the hospital."  
  
They were quiet for awhile, except for the really tiny noise Sakura made when she lifted the chair and placed it softly next to his bed.  
  
Eventually, though, Sasuke broke the ice by saying, "How long have I been unconscious, Sakura?"  
  
"For three whole days," she replied simply. "What happened to you?" she added.  
  
"I couldn't eat," Sasuke explained. "It's like my stomach just wouldn't take in anything, because they all tasted like blood." He sighed. "That's why I fainted back at my house."  
  
"Oh-," was all Sakura said in reply.  
  
They became silent again and Sasuke found this quite strange, for Sakura was usually the one who tried to strike up conversations with him. 'But that was seven years ago-,' he thought. 'She's probably changed a lot by now-'  
  
For some reason which he couldn't quite grasp, he felt a sort of heavy feeling heaving over him when he thought of that.  
  
"Ne, Sakura-,' he suddenly said after awhile.  
  
"Hai, Sasuke-kun?"  
  
"Did you see my brother anytime ago?"  
  
Sakura shook her head, but that didn't stop him from seeing her eyes looking shocked at his question. "No, I didn't."  
  
"I thought so." He narrowed his eyes in fury. 'Then what the hell does that dream mean?!'  
  
"Daijobu deska, Sasuke-kun?" she suddenly asked him, concern seen clearly in her eyes.  
  
"Aa," he replied.  
  
Silence threatened to descend again and he couldn't stand it, so he asked, "So, what's been happening while I've gone?"  
  
He was glad that she started to talk continuously and cheerfully when he asked her that question. He didn't know it, but his sub-conscious knew that he missed hearing that loud voice of hers.  
  
She told him about everything, about how Naruto left on a journey to find him and become stronger, of how Kakashi-sensei would still never let go of that porn book of his, of how Shikamaru and Ino got married and about lots of other things.  
  
It was a long while before Sakura asked him, "Ne, Sasuke-kun, are you sure all of the members of your clan were killed by your brother except you?"  
  
Sasuke was taken aback by this question, but he knew that Sakura just had to have reason to ask such a question, so he replied, "Aa. Why do you ask, Sakura?"  
  
He saw squirm a bit in her seat, as if she was reluctant to say what she was planning to say. "Well-,' she began to say eventually. "I met this little girl about ten days ago-she looks exactly like you."  
  
"Little girl?"  
  
Sakura began to explain. When she finished, Sasuke asked her, "And her relatives are still not found?"  
  
Sakura nodded saying, "Aa."  
  
"Can I see her?"  
  
"I'm going to go home and bring her here right now," Sakura said as she got off the chair. "Meanwhile, get a good rest, alright, Sasuke-kun?"  
  
He nodded and watched her retreating figure exiting the room, thinking, 'She really has changed a lot-' and sighed, although he didn't know for what reason.  
  
About an hour later-  
  
Sasuke's sharp hearing caught the sound of the door leading to his hospital room being opened quietly.  
  
Sakura stepped in and he caught a glimpse of someone small in size hiding behind her.  
  
He sat up as she made her way to his bed, still covering that tiny person from his view. She moved away and revealed-  
  
An adorable little girl about five years old with shoulder-length hair that resembled his and a pair of onyx eyes that seemed as emotionless as his used to be.  
  
He couldn't help staring at her. 'She really looks a lot like me!' he thought.  
  
"Sasuke-kun, this is, Chii-chan," Sakura said, placing a hand on the little girl's head. "Chii-chan, this is Sasuke-niichan."  
  
"Hello, Sasuke-niichan," Chii said in a soft, shy voice that could barely be heard.  
  
"Hello, Chii-chan," he replied.  
  
A weird feeling dwelled in his heart as he looked at her. She made him feel a sudden rush of hatred-as well as a sudden rush of softness.  
  
Suddenly, the door burst open, destroying the tender moment.  
  
Ino was at the door, panting.  
  
Sakura immediately saw that something was wrong. She started towards her, asking, "What's wrong, Ino? Did something happen?"  
  
Ino gave her a brisk nod. "A Missing-Nin who's just recently been spotted has killed three Jounins!"  
  
Sakura nodded, not needing any more further explanation. "Yakarimasu. I'll be on it in five minutes."  
  
Ino nodded. She gave a brisk nod to Sasuke and a weak smile to Chii before disappearing into a cloud of smoke.  
  
"Sakura-neechan, what's going on?" Chii asked as Sakura made her way back towards them with a grave face.  
  
"Listen, Chii-chan, I've got to go now, so you've to stay here with Sasuke-niichan, ok?" Sakura said, kneeling in front of her.  
  
Chii nodded and Sakura stretched up to look at Sasuke, who'd been quiet through the whole thing.  
  
"You're a Hunter-Nin now?" he asked casually.  
  
Sakura shook her head. "Nope."  
  
"Then why-"  
  
"I'm a Jounin-who hunts down Missing-Nin," Sakura briefly explained. "I'll tell you more about it later when I come back, ok?"  
  
Sasuke nodded and Sakura gave his hand a brief squeeze before she walked out, leaving the two alone to stare at each other.  
  
Author's words: I hope it was alright! (Is very worried) Don't forget to send me a review if you like it or hate it! Ja ne. 


	4. Chapter 4

Author's words:  
  
To: Love From Vikky ~ Does blood taste sour? I never realized. Who wouldn't barf if everything you ate tasted like blood??  
  
To: Hoshi-Star ~ Arigato for saying that it's a good story. I love the Sasu/Saku pairing! Yeah, I know, Sasuke seems a little too soft, I'll try to fix that in the next chapter- Sasuke went back to Konoha Village instinctively, he didn't actually plan on going back.  
  
To: kokorodragon ~ I'm glad you like the name, Koko-chan! Chii-chan is a kawaii chraracter!  
  
To: Chelsey-chan ~ Arigato for the compliment. Chii-chan isn't Sasuke's cousin and yeah, I guess you'll just have to wait (gomenne!). Thanks for adding my story to your favorite list (sheds away a happy tear). I'll try my best to keep up my writing! GO SASU/SAKU!  
  
To: Vivian ~ This chapter shall tell you what will happen-  
  
To: Shy-Lil-Dreamer ~ One of the reasons why I chose to call her Chii-chan was because the name was cute! Whether she is Itachi or not, only I know, so gomenne!  
  
Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto. Naruto belongs to the great Kishimoto Masashi-sensei, so please don't sue me! (I'm broke! T_T)  
  
Author's note: Some of the '-'s stands for '. . .'  
  
A Chance to Forgive  
  
Chapter 4  
  
The atmosphere had immediately became still and silent once Sakura stepped out of Sakura's hospital room.  
  
And for some reason, Sasuke didn't like the silence at all. And the feeling of hatred and softness rushing at the same time into his heart and mind didn't help to make things any better.  
  
'First Sakura and now this little girl?' he thought as he watched the little girl hoisting herself up onto the chair with a little difficulty. 'Something's wrong with the females here-'  
  
Silence passed by as they both remained in their positions, neither of them having the intention to talk.  
  
It was a long time before Chii gathered up her courage to say, "Um, Sasuke-niichan?" just as he began to wonder what type of job Sakura had as a ninja.  
  
"Hn?"  
  
"Do you want me to get you anything?"  
  
"No," he replied simply without looking at her.  
  
"Oh, ok-," Chii shifted restlessly on her chair. "Just tell Chii-chan if nii-chan wants anything, ok?"  
  
"Aa," Sasuke responded, closing his eyes shut.  
  
Silence filled the room once more before Sasuke asked, "Don't you want to play outside, Chii-chan?"  
  
She looked at him, whose eyes were still closed, blankly.  
  
"I mean, don't you want to go outside?" he said, thinking at the same time, 'Why am I even asking her this?!'  
  
"Chii-chan wants to go, but-'  
  
"But?" (He's still wondering about the same thought.)  
  
"Sakura-neechan told Chii-chan to stay here with Sasuke-niichan, so Chii-chan stay here," she answered.  
  
"What if niichan tells you to play outside?" Sasuke tested her for no particular reason,.  
  
"Chii-chan will still stay here," Chii said firmly. "Chii-chan doesn't want Sasuke-niichan to be alone."  
  
Sasuke arched an eyebrow. "Why?" he asked out of sheer curiosity as he felt a bit of his sudden feeling of hatred disappear.  
  
"Because Chii-chan knows that being alone isn't nice," she replied softly.  
  
Silence emerged again afterwards.  
  
"Do you hate the man who killed your parents, Chii-chan?" Sasuke suddenly asked, immediately feeling regretted once the question popped out of his mouth.  
  
Sasuke saw hatred fill the little girl's onyx-black eyes at once as she said, "Chii-chan hates him! Chii-chan hates him so much!"  
  
"Does Chii-chan hate him so much as to kill him?" Sasuke asked again after awhile.  
  
"Hai, if Chii-chan grows up and becomes as strong as Sakura-neechan," Chii said. "But-"  
  
"But-?"  
  
"Even if Chii-chan becomes strong, Chii-chan doesn't think Chii-chan will kill him."  
  
"Why's that?"  
  
"Because if Chii-chan kills him, then Chii-chan will be as bad as him."  
  
Her sentence caused Sasuke's heart to skip a beat.  
  
'Only five years old-,' he thought in awe, as another bit of the feeling of hatred peeled away from his heart and mind. 'And she can already see something I've totally overlooked!'  
  
"Can I ask you something, Chii-chan?" Sasuke asked a bit hesitantly sometime later, wondering since when he'd ever become so hesitant to ask a child questions.  
  
"Hai, Sasuke-niichan."  
  
"How does that man look like?"  
  
"He has black hair and black eyes," she responded slowly after awhile. "And his face-is like yours, Sasuke-niichan."  
  
Sasuke's heart skipped another beat.  
  
'Did Itachi murder her family?' he thought as he balled his hands into fists angrily, the hatred in his heart suddenly burning brightly again.  
  
"But Chii-chan thinks that that man is strange," Chii said, breaking Sasuke's thoughts.  
  
Sasuke arched an eyebrow at that.  
  
"That man killed Chii-chan's parents really quickly that they didn't have time to scream," she said quietly. "It was as though the man didn't really want to kill them-"  
  
"And when he turned to look at Chii-chan," she continued on. "Chii- chan saw his eyes turn back to black and heard a voice in Chii-chan's head say, 'I killed them for you, because I love you-,'-"  
  
"Maybe that's why-Chii-chan doesn't want to kill him even if Chii- chan becomes strong," she finished after a moment's silence.  
  
Suddenly, Sasuke let out a short, heartfelt chuckle which he couldn't keep in as he felt all the hatred he felt disappear in one go and be replaced with a feeling of amazement because of this little girl's words.  
  
He reached out an laid a hand on top of Chii's head. "You're quite mature for a five year old," he commented.  
  
"Chii-chan knows that," Chii said. "Many people always say that to Chii-chan even if Chii-chan understand."  
  
"Well, then I'll tell you what it means, Chii-chan."  
  
She looked at him intently with her innocent and yet wise eyes.  
  
"Mature means that you act a lot older than anyone your age acts. Do you understand?"  
  
Chii shook her head, saying, "Not really, but Chii-chan will try Chii- chan's best to understand."  
  
'Even the words she use are big words,' he thought as he got out off bed and started towards the door.  
  
"Where are you going, Sasuke-niichan?" Chii asked him.  
  
"Outside, where else?" he replied without looking behind him.  
  
When he didn't hear her follow him, he turned around with a smile on his face (Woah! Since when does he smile to kids?!) and said, "Well, what are you waiting for? Let's go!"  
  
Chii nodded excitedly and ran towards him, her hand clutching his hand as they walked out to begin a unique friendship.  
  
Author's note: I'm sorry that this is kind of short, but I felt it was enough, so- Don't forget to send me a review if you like it! Thanks for reading this fanfic of mine and ja ne! 


	5. Chapter 5

Author's regards:  
  
To: lil_charat624 ~ I'm glad you love my story and arigato for saying that it's so good. I'll post more as soon as I can.  
  
To: vivian ~ Arigato for the compliment. I'll keep updating, don't worry.  
  
To: Cookie6 ~ Yeah, I know, Sasuke's so cute in my last chapter, but the thing is, I find him too soft!  
  
To: Shy-Lil-Dreamer ~ Arigato for the compliment. Hehehe, it's amazing that I never get tired of hearing people say that Chii is so cute! SasuSaku's not just nice, they're practically fantabulous!  
  
To: Love From Vikky ~ Yup, you're one of my most dutiful reviewers and I'm really grateful for that. Yeah, 'Itachi' loves Chii-chan in a brotherly- sisterly way, not in the 'other' way. What does pedophile mean? I'm too lazy to look the word up in the dictionary- Yeah, Chii's even smarter than Sasuke! Hehehe, I guess it's because you just love to, that's all.  
  
To: Osveanne ~ I'll write more, don't worry and if you terajang me at school if I don't write more, then how am I supposed to write more?! Pakai logic sikitlah! Thanks for saying good luck to me. I'm not a pro lo!  
  
To: Chelsey-chan ~ Thanks for the compliment.  
  
Discalimer: I don't own Naruto. Naruto belongs to the great Kishimoto Masashi-sensei, so please don't sue me because I'm practically broke! T_T  
  
Author's note: Some of the '-'s stands for '. . .'  
  
A Chance to Forgive  
  
Chapter 5  
  
Four days had passed since then and if there was one thing which Sasuke had learnt during that short period of time and yet was completely sure of, it was the fact that he really enjoyed having Chii with him.  
  
Right now, he was pushing the swing of the hospital's playground on which she was on gently, so that she wouldn't accidentally fly off or something.  
  
This was what they'd done every afternoon and although it was the same thing everyday, Sasuke actually didn't mind doing it as long as Chii wanted to do it.  
  
He looked down at the top of her black head, listening to her humming a soft catchy tune, thinking for about probably the thousandth time since four days ago, 'She's such a weird kid.'  
  
Suddenly, she tilted her head upwards to look at him. "Is there something wrong, Sasuke-niichan?" she asked with concern in her voice and eyes.  
  
He was caught off-guard but he quickly replied, "Iie," while thinking at the same time, 'Her senses are quite sharp!'  
  
That answer satisfied her, so she looked back down and continued to hum that tune of hers, not realizing that she had practically caught one of the most powerful ninjas off-guard a second ago.  
  
"Chii-chan, can I ask you something?" Sasuke suddenly said, who was thinking at the same time, 'I wonder why the heck I keep asking her for permission before I ask her a question?!'  
  
"Sure, Sasuke-niichan," she replied.  
  
"What do you want to be when you grow up?"  
  
"I wanna be like Sakura-neechan!" she simply replied, her onyx eyes shining brightly with determination.  
  
"In what way?"  
  
"I wanna become as strong as Sakura-neechan is," Chii said. "And I wanna have the same job she does!"  
  
"What is her job, anyway, Chii-chan?" Sasuke continued to ask, as he still didn't understand what Sakura had told him before she'd left.  
  
Chii looked up at Sasuke in confusion and surprise. "Sasuke- niichan doesn't know?"  
  
"Aa."  
  
"Well-," Chii began. "Sakura-neechan told Chii-chan that she is a Jounin who hunts down Missing-Nin."  
  
"I know that," Sasuke said patiently. "But I don't really understand-"  
  
"Sakura-neechan told Chii-chan that she is like a Hunter-Nin, but she doesn't destroy the Missing-Nin like the Hunter-Nins do," Chii continued on, interrupting Sasuke's sentence. "She takes them to Tsunade- sama after she makes them become good."  
  
"After she makes them good?" Sasuke said in a tone that clearly showed that he didn't quite get it.  
  
"Sakura-neechan says that she talks with the Missing-Nins she catches and makes them change their bad ways into good ways," Chii explained. "That way, they have a second chance in life and are left to live with Tsunade-sama's permission."  
  
"Oh-," was all Sasuke said in reply as he finally understood what Sakura was talking about. At the same time, he was thinking, 'I wonder when such a job was made?'  
  
"Ne, Sasuke-niichan," Chii suddenly said, breaking his thoughts.  
  
"Hai, Chii-chan?"  
  
"Can Chii-chan ask Sasuke-niichan a question too?"  
  
"Aa."  
  
"Does Sasuke-niichan love Sakura-neechan?"  
  
His heart skipped a beat and his mind had suddenly stopped thinking that he accidentally pushed the swing so hard that it sent Chii flying into the air.  
  
Luckily, he was quick enough to react and was just in time to catch her before she fell to the ground by transporting himself there with a jutsu.  
  
"That was fun, can we do it again?!" Chii asked, her face pink with excitement and hope.  
  
A huge animated sweatdrop appeared at the back of Sasuke's head as he said, "Um, actually, I wasn't planning on doing that in the first place, Chii-chan."  
  
"But even so, can we do it again?!" Chii said persistently.  
  
"No," Sasuke said firmly. "Sakura will skin my neck if she knew I'd hurt you."  
  
"Oh, ok-," Chii said in defeat as her excited and hopeful face fell into one of total disappointment as he set her back on the swing. "But Sasuke-niichan needs to answer Chii-chan's question since Sasuke-niichan doesn't allow Chii-chan to do that."  
  
A huge animated tick at the back of his head this time as Sasuke thought, 'Why'd she have to be such a smart aleck?!'  
  
Eventually, he did answer her question after he saw her hopeful face which he just simply couldn't resist.  
  
"Well-," he began hesitantly, "I guess I do love her-but only as a friend, though," he quickly added in an almost panicked tone.  
  
"Oh-," Chii said in reply, her tone much more disappointed than it was earlier.  
  
"Why do you ask, Chii-chan?" Sasuke asked out of curiosity. 'Did Sakura ask her to ask me?' he wondered as his heart suddenly pounded a lot faster than average.  
  
"Because Sakura-neechan told Chii-chan that she still loves Sasuke-niichan."  
  
Fortunately this time, Sasuke didn't accidentally push the swing hard again.  
  
The last sentence of Chii's made him wonder so much that he couldn't sleep and was still awake in the middle of that night as he laid in his hospital bed with her clutching his shirt as she slept beside him, though.  
  
'For Heaven's sake!' he thought in frustration. 'Why am I even wondering why she loves me?!'  
  
'Because you want to know,' his sub-conscious told him. 'Since you don't feel like you deserve her.'  
  
He couldn't deny that inner voice at the back of his mind and that left him to continue wondering as memories which he'd shared together with her in the past flashed in his mind all at once.  
  
'All those times I ignored her-,' he thought. 'And yet she still kept coming back. I barely acknowledge her presence, and yet she'd grace me with that smile of hers.' (An image of Sakura smiling popped into his head at this moment)  
  
'Even though she's the cleverest girl I've ever met, she still says the silliest things sometimes,' he thought, but a small smile suddenly touched his lips. 'But-I've got to admit-those silly words of hers- can actually soothe me-'  
  
His face suddenly flushed as he yelled silently at himself in embarrassment, 'What the heck I'm doing?! I can't believe I thought of Sakura in 'that' way!'  
  
He was about to continue on lecturing himself when he suddenly heard the door of his hospital room being opened slowly, almost silently. Thinking that it was the nurse who would check in on him every night to check that he was alright, he quickly closed his eyes and pretended to go to sleep, not realizing that it wasn't the nurse at all.  
  
Sakura opened the door to Sasuke's hospital room as silently as she could before she stepped inside with light, seemingly silent footsteps.  
  
The first thing she noticed were the two people sleeping peacefully on the hospital bed.  
  
'Aww, they're so cute!' she thought as she looked down at the both of them. Sasuke was sleeping on the right side of the bed and Chii was on the left, but she had invaded a bit of Sasuke's territory as she clutched Sasuke's shirt tightly with her small fists and had her head against Sasuke's chest. 'I wish I had a camera with me!'  
  
She was about to take the blanket off them so that she could cover the both of them equally, but she stopped when she heard Sasuke suddenly say, "No need for that Sakura."  
  
"Ah!" she gasped quietly in shock as she was caught off-guard. "I'm sorry, Sasuke-kun, I didn't realize that you were awake!"  
  
"Never mind," he said as he sat up and got off the bed. "I was pretending to be asleep anyway."  
  
He pulled the blanket gently but quickly from under Chii and covered her with it before he turned over to look at Sakura, asking her, "So, how'd your mission go?"  
  
Sakura sighed as she sat gently on the end of the bed. "The Missing-Nin was a bit hard to defeat and convince, but I eventually managed to."  
  
"Since when has this type of job been assigned?" he asked her as he leaned against the wall beside the bed, his onyx eyes looking at her directly.  
  
'Is it me, or is he acting kind of differently today?' Sakura wondered as she replied, "Well, it started just over a year ago-"  
  
"Oh-," was all he said as a reply.  
  
They were silent for a few moments as Sakura continued to wonder what was wrong with Sasuke while Sasuke was battling with his inner self whether he should tell her what he wanted to or not.  
  
Eventually, after a long period of silence, Sasuke said in a voice that almost didn't sound like his, "Ne, Sakura-,"  
  
"Hai, Sasuke-kun?" she replied, looking at him with clueless eyes.  
  
"I've decided-," Sasuke began when suddenly, the door opened and a nurse entered the room.  
  
"Ohayou, you two!" she said brightly, a broad smile on her cheerful face. "Today's the day Uchiha-san here gets to go out of the hospital, so you two had better start packing! That is all!"  
  
With that, she left the room and the two off them staring at her with huge sweat drops at the back of their heads.  
  
"She should learn how to knock," Sasuke muttered under his breath.  
  
"You're not kidding," Sakura said in agreement. "So what were you going to say?" she asked, looking at him directly in the eye.  
  
"Well-," he began again, but was again interrupted as Chii suddenly sat up and yawned widely.  
  
She rubbed her eyes, saying, "Ohayou, Sasuke-niichan- Sasuke- niichan?"  
  
"Ohayou, Chii-chan," she heard two voices, one male and one female say to her at the same time.  
  
She lowered her hands and saw Sakura's smiling face and immediately hugged her tightly around the waist. "Sakura-neechan! You're back!" she exclaimed joyfully. "I missed you!"  
  
"I missed you too, Chii-chan," Sakura said in amusement as she ruffled the little girl's hair. She looked over at Sasuke and mouthed the words to him, 'Tell me later.'  
  
She saw him nodded in understanding before she pulled Chii away from her and said, "Guess where the three of us are going today?"  
  
"Where?" Chii asked excitedly.  
  
Sakura looked over to Sasuke, who just shrugged, signaling that he couldn't guess where.  
  
"We're going to a carnival!"  
  
"Carnival??" both Sasuke and Chii said at the same time.  
  
Sakura nodded joyfully. "Yep! So we had better get our butts moving, or else we won't get to go there!"  
  
With that, she got off the bed and began to make it up after plopping Chii onto the floor, leaving Sasuke and Chii completely clueless.  
  
Author's words: As usual, I hope this chapter's okay and I'm really thankful that you wanna read this fanfic of mine. Don't forget to send me a review if you like it or even hate it! Ja ne. 


	6. Chapter 6

Author's words:  
  
To: Love From Vikky ~ Hmm, I guess I'm starting to love picking on him too, since I made him be interrupted so many times-I must've been influenced by you or something. Yup, you love picking on him so much, there's no denying there. I love that part too, because it's so silly!  
  
To: Chelsey-chan ~ Hehehe, you must be psychic! ^_^ Thanks for saying that it's a good chappie. Yup, the two of them are almost like parents, aren't they? And they're not even married yet!  
  
To: Mindy ~ Thanks for saying that it's kawaii, Mindy-san.  
  
To: lil_charat624 ~ Arigato for saying that you love my chapter (again). I hope this story of mine will be long too-  
  
To: Cookie6 ~ Arigato for saying that it's great. So many people loves Chii that I'm starting to get jealous of her! (I'm not kidding here!)  
  
Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto. Naruto belongs to the great Kishimoto Masashi-sensei, so please don't sue me because I'm practically broke! T_T  
  
Author's note: Some of the '-'s stands for '. . .'  
  
A Chance to Forgive  
  
Chapter 6  
  
A huge crowd had collected at an enormous empty space somewhere at Konoha Village, at which the carnival was being held. There were so many people there and they were of all ages, shapes and sizes and the only thing that was common in between them all was the fact that they were all obviously enjoying themselves.  
  
There were three people who stood out in this crowd, and they were about to check in at the ticket booth. These three people were Sasuke, Sakura and of course, Chii.  
  
Sasuke was wearing the usual clothes he always wore, except his shirt was long-sleeved and he wore long trousers and not shorts. This style of clothing of his showed clearly that he was Uchiha Sasuke, though, since he always wore blue shirts and white trousers.  
  
Sakura, in the meantime, wore a simple, sleeveless red mini dress that reached down till just above her knees, which was mini enough to make almost every guy her age (some where way older) who happened to look at her drool. Unfortunately, Sakura didn't realize that her mini dress was also mini enough to make even Sasuke's heart beat faster every time he looked at her.  
  
And last of all, is cute and undeniably adorable little Chii. She wore a sleeveless mini dress that was a duplicate of Sakura's, except it was lavender in color, and her hair was tied in two ponytails at each side of her head.  
  
The three of them made such a beautiful combination that the guy at the ticket booth simply couldn't resist saying to Chii, "Enjoy the Carnival with your parents ok, little one?," before letting them enter.  
  
This made Sasuke and Sakura's faces turn into the same cute shade of bright red as they both tried to avoid eye contact with each other as much as they could.  
  
"Ne, Sasuke-niichan, Sakura-neechan?" Chii suddenly said.  
  
"Hai, Chii-chan?" they both chorused at the same time, still avoiding eye contact with each other as they were still blushing.  
  
"The onni-chan inside the big box (she's referring to the ticket booth, mind you) told Chii-chan to enjoy the Carnival with Chii-chan's parents-," Chii said slowly. "Does that mean Chii-chan can call Sasuke-niichan otou- san and Sakura-neechan okaa-san?"  
  
The only response she received from them both were silence and the deepening of the blush on their faces.  
  
They were about to say, "No!" at the same time, but they stopped when they saw that irresistible and hopeful look on Chii's face.  
  
"Um, I don't mind if you don't mind-," they said at the same time after a moment's silence, turning to look at each other's faces only to turn away again as their blushes somehow deepened once more.  
  
"So?" Chii asked persistently in her cute voice. "Can Chii-chan do that? Can? Can?"  
  
"You can," Sasuke replied shortly, the blush on his face fading a bit.  
  
"But only for today, ok?" Sakura added as the blush on her face began to fade as well.  
  
"Yea!" Chii exclaimed as she caught hold of their hands and began dragging them with her. "Let's go, Otou-san, Okaa-san!"  
  
"Chii-chan, keep your voice down!" Sakura softly scolded when she saw the stares the people around them were giving them.  
  
'I wonder what Sakura and I'd just dragged ourselves into?' Sasuke thought uneasily as he saw the people around them begin whispering and pointing at them.  
  
"Look, isn't that Uchiha Sasuke who ran off with the Sound Nins seven years ago?" his sharp ears suddenly heard someone say.  
  
A sharp painful feeling went through his heart as he mumbled grumpily under his breath, "He should at least lower down his voice-"  
  
"Just ignore them, Sasuke-kun," Sakura suddenly said softly.  
  
Sasuke turned to look at her with surprise clearly seen in his onyx eyes.  
  
They're just jerks who don't know anything but rumors," she said as she turned to look at him directly in the eyes. "I want you to enjoy your day today, so please just ignore them, ok?"  
  
"A-a," Sasuke sort of stammered.  
  
Satisfied with the answer, Sakura turned back to look in front of her and almost immediately exclaimed, "Ee?! Isn't that Kakashi-sensei and Kurenai- sensei?!" as she pointed directly at the back of two people not far from in front of them with a huge animated exclamation mark hanging above her head.  
  
Sasuke turned to look too, and sure enough, he saw the very familiar back and spiky, silver-colored hair of his former sensei of seven years ago. Next to him was Kurenai-sensei, or at least someone who looked like her.  
  
"That doesn't look like Kurenai-sensei," he said to himself, but Sakura heard him and she nodded in agreement, saying,  
  
"You're right, Kurenai-sensei's hair isn't as curly and the color of her clothes are quite different."  
  
Suddenly, they saw the Kurenai-sensei look alike offer their sensei some sort of pink puffy candy (I'm talking about cotton candy here) which she had obviously just eaten. They saw their Kakashi-sensei protest, but it looked like his companion insisted so much that he eventually took a bite of it (at the exact same spot where she'd bitten too! ^_^).  
  
Fat animated exclamation marks appeared at the back of Sasuke and Sakura's heads when they saw what their sensei had done and they turned to look at each other to say at the same time, "Kakashi-sensei has a girlfriend?!"  
  
"Well, only one way to find out," Sakura said as she called at the top of her voice, "Kakashi-sensei!"  
  
'Was it me,' Sasuke thought. 'Or did Kakashi-sensei sort of stiffen for a moment there?'  
  
'Must be my imagination,' he concluded as he saw their sensei turn to smile at them under his mask. (Actually, Kakashi had stiffen for a moment there)  
  
"Ohayou, Sakura-chan!" he replied cheerfully before he suddenly disappeared out of thin air to reappear behind Sasuke. "And ohayou, Sasuke," he added in a dangerous tone as he began pulling Sasuke's ears really hard.  
  
While Kakashi was busy enjoying his time pulling at Sasuke's ears, the Kurenai-sensei look alike went to Sakura and introduced herself, "Ohayou, I'm Yuuki Seijin. You're Haruno Sakura, right?"  
  
Sakura nodded politely as she accepted the lovely, silvery-blue eyed lady's hand who looked only a year or so older than herself. "Ohayou. Haii, I'm Haruno Sakura, but how'd you know me, Sejin-san?"  
  
"Kakashi-kun has told me all about you!" she exclaimed, her eyes brightening. "But he's never mentioned to me that you've such a lovely daughter!"  
  
At this point, Kakashi stopped pulling Sasuke's ears to ask out loud, "Yeah, since when did you two have a daughter? She's really cute, too!" he added as he left Sasuke at peace to kneel down and offer his hand to Chii, saying, "Hello there little one, I'm Kakashi, your otou-san's sensei."  
  
"Hello, Kakashi-ojisan!" Chii replied politely as she accepted the older ninja's hand.  
  
Kakashi's face fell at her response as he looked down to the floor sullenly with animated blue flames appearing around him.  
  
"What's wrong with Kakashi-ojisan, otou-san?" Chii asked, looking at her 'father' who was busy rubbing his extremely red ears.  
  
"I think he wants you to call him onni-chan, Chii-chan," Sasuke explained briefly as he continued to rub his ears.  
  
"Oh-," Chii turned back to look at the sullen faced ninja in front of her. "I mean, hello, Kakashi-oniichan!"  
  
Kakashi looked up immediately at that, a huge smile on his face. "That's better. So what's your name, little one?"  
  
"Chii-chan," Chii said simply.  
  
That's such a cute name!" Seijin commented as she went forward to introduce herself to Chii too while Kakashi stretched up to look at his former students, asking them,  
  
"So, since when did you two have Chii?"  
  
Both of their faces turned red instantly as Sasuke stared down at his feet as though they were the most interesting thing he'd ever seen in his life while Sakura timidly answered, "Well-she's only being our daughter today."  
  
"What do you mean, only today?" Kakashi asked, not quite getting the point.  
  
"We're letting her call us her parents for today," Sakura explained. "In reality, she's actually my adopted little sister."  
  
"Oh-," Kakashi said in a somewhat disappointed tone. "That's such a shame."  
  
Huge animated sweat-drops appeared at the back of Sasuke and Sakura's heads as Sakura asked in an almost fearful tone, "What do you mean, it's such a shame?"  
  
"Because if Chii-chan here was really you two's daughter, then I," he turned to look slyly at Sasuke. "Could ask Sasuke here how it felt like while doing 'that'."  
  
Sasuke and Sakura were slow to react, so Seijin was the one who pulled Kakashi's ear really hard.  
  
"Ow, ow, that's hurts!" Kakashi exclaimed.  
  
"That's what you get when you say something indecent in front of me," Seijin said huffily.  
  
'She sure she lives up to her name,' Sakura thought, sweat-dropping. 'She must be a real saint or something-' ('Seijin' means saint in Japanese).  
  
At the same time, Sasuke was thinking, 'She must've super human strength to make Kakashi-sensei shriek in pain like that.'  
  
"Ne, Kakashi-niichan, Seijin-neechan?" Chii suddenly asked.  
  
"Hai, Chii-chan?"  
  
"Are you two lovers?" she asked, making Seijin drop her hand from Kakashi's ear and Kakashi collapse to the ground in anime style.  
  
Sakura couldn't help grinning while Sasuke couldn't help smirking. Just leave it to Chii to get revenge for them, although she didn't even realize that she was doing so.  
  
"We're not-!" Seiji and Kakashi practically shouted at the same time, their faces so red it would've been difficult to differentiate a tomato and them if they'd been side by side.  
  
"Right," Sakura said in her 'I really, really believe you' tone. "Anyway, why don't the five of us spend our time together today? That way it'll be much more fun!"  
  
She received a nod from Sasuke, a "Let's, let's!" from Chii, a "Good idea!" from Seijin and a "Let's do it!" from Kakashi.  
  
With that, the five of them linked their hands, Chii being in the very middle with Sakura and Seijin beside her and Sasuke beside Sakura while Kakashi was beside Seijin as they walked through the carnival to begin what was probably going to be the most enjoyable day they'd ever have.  
  
Author's words: How was it? I hope it was okay-I bet you guys are wondering who Seijin is, right? Well, she's this character I've made by myself who I'm planning to pair up with Kakashi in this fanfic I'm gonna do after I finish this one, which is entitled "The Scarecrow and the Saint." Anyway, don't forget to send me a review if you like this chapter of mine or send me a flame if you hate it. Thanks for reading this fanfic of mine and ja ne! 


	7. Chapter 7

Author's words:  
  
To: Love From Vikky ~ Wow, you sound kind of 'over-protective' over Sasuke there. Don't worry, Kakashi won't be picking on him too much again after this. Hehehe. There's no denying that Kakashi's hot even though he's perverted!  
  
To: X-Cry-Death ~ Is this story really that cute? Hehehe, I know what you mean, even I want to do that-(she's my own character too!) I love your cat sign! =^_^= It's so cute!  
  
To: Chelsey-chan ~ Hehehe. If you're really psychic, then can I ask you to look into my future? *Then, after a moment's thought* Then again- *shudders* I don't think I want anyone to see my future- I'll keep up the good work. Don't go on predicting what else is going to happen in my fanfic, ok, or else it'll spoil the suspense for you!  
  
To: haruna-chan ~ Hmm-let's see if he confesses or not. Maybe they're going to adopt her as their daughter and maybe not- only I know, so gomenne!  
  
To: new dragon18 ~ *Totally shocked* Oh my God, I can't believe I actually made someone change their opinions about something- I hope I won't kill the coupling like the other stories you mentioned- Gomen, but Naruto will only be appearing as a ? (I can't tell you because it'll spoil the suspense) and at the end of the story! I hope you don't mind!  
  
To: RoseFire222 ~ You're making me really embarrassed here by saying that my story's the best-but in other words, I really appreciate you saying that this fanfic of mine is awesome. Arigato gozaimasu!  
  
To: Cookie6 ~ I love Kakashi's reaction when he heard Sakura call his name too and when he was getting perverted and Seijin took 'care' of him. ^_^ Serves him right!  
  
To: pocky no miko ~ Arigato for saying that this fanfic of mine is so cute ^o^ You'll be seeing Itachi in this fanfic, so don't worry. I'm also a sort of crazy fangirl of Itachi!  
  
Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto. Naruto belongs to the great Kishimoto Masashi-sensei, so please don't sue me because I'm practically broke! T_T  
  
Author's note: Some of the '-'s stands for '. . .'  
  
A Chance to Forgive  
  
Chapter 7  
  
"Can we go on that one?!" Chii asked, her hand that was in Seijin's hand a moment ago pointing at a huge circular ride that had all sorts of animals on it (It's a carousel). "Can we, can we?!"  
  
"Sure!" Kakashi said before anyone else could say anything. He began leading them towards the ride that was labeled 'The Animal Ark'. "Let's hurry, or else it'll fill!"  
  
However, by the time they came to the carousel, it was almost full and left only three empty places.  
  
Sasuke saw his chance to escape, so he said, "I'll sit this one out."  
  
"Me too," Sakura said, seeing the same opportunity as he did. "You three go on ahead and have some fun."  
  
"Nonsense!" Seijin said as she went behind Sakura and began pushing her forward. "We'll think of something!"  
  
"Seijin-neechan's right, okaa-san!" Chii piped in as she helped Seijin to push her 'mother' forward. "Okaa-san and otou-san must follow!"  
  
Kakashi chuckled as he used only one hand to catch hold of the back of Sasuke's shirt's collar and began dragging him forward too. "Can't argue with the little tyke there."  
  
They only saw clearly what places were left went they actually went on the carousel itself, and those three empty places happened to be a white horse that led a wedding carriage that barely fitted two people and a bird that was a couple of feet above from the floor of the carousel.  
  
"Ok, Sasuke and Sakura will sit here," Kakashi said casually as he pushed Sasuke inside the carriage from one side while Seijin and Chii pushed Sakura from the other. "While Chii-chan will sit on this bird-"  
  
"But-!" Sasuke and Sakura both protested at the same time, but stopped when they heard their sensei say to them,  
  
"Would you two rather be riding on the same horse?"  
  
This left them with no way out as Kakashi hoisted Chii onto the blue bird that was beside them and climbed onto the white horse that led their carriage, his arms around Seijin's waist who was in front of him.  
  
"I don't mind you holding me around the waist since this is the second time (The first time was in 'The Scarecrow and the Saint')," Seijin said as the person whose job was to check the safety of everybody on board the carousel signaled to his friend that everything was a ok. "But don't you dare touch anything else, you hear me?"  
  
"And what'll you do if I do touch anything else?" Kakashi said mischievously into her ear.  
  
She turned to look at him straight in the eye with an eyebrow arching. "Do you really want to know?"  
  
A lot of tiny animated sweat-drops appeared at the back of Kakashi's head instantly as he said hurriedly, "I guess I don't want to!"  
  
"Kakashi-sensei really is afraid of Seijin-chan, isn't he, Sasuke- kun?" Sakura said calmly, trying to ignore the fact that they were actually sitting side by side on the same 'very comfy' seat.  
  
"Aa," Sasuke replied as he tried to shift a little bit to his side so that their shoulders wouldn't meet but failed miserably. "She must be a very powerful ninja."  
  
Sakura couldn't reply to this as the carousel suddenly started to move at a sudden burst of speed (This is no normal carousel I'm talking about here, so just bear with me, ok?).  
  
This sudden movement of the carousel made Kakashi and Chii squeal loudly in delight, making practically everyone around them, including the people on the carousel and on the other rides, look at them while huge exasperated and embarrassed animated sweat-drops appeared at the back of Seijin, Sasuke and Sakura's heads.  
  
After making one full turn at that speed, the carousel suddenly went up in a twirling way off the ground, making everyone except Seijin, Sasuke and Sakura on it either squeal or shriek.  
  
Then, after the carousel went down in the same way and speed, it began turning again just as it had earlier on, except that it made everything that everyone was riding on move in their own way.  
  
It just so happens that the way that Sasuke and Sakura's 'wedding carriage' moved was that the seat they were sitting on in the carriage lunged one step forward.  
  
Which was no wonder why Sakura automatically grabbed hold of something- anything-when that happened.  
  
The ride had ended just then and the people who were closest to the exit gate began going off the carousel-  
  
And yet Sakura still hadn't let go of that 'something'.  
  
"Anou, Sakura-," Sasuke suddenly said softly.  
  
"Hai, Sasuke-kun?" Sakura said, looking at him cluelessly.  
  
"You can let go of my shirt now," he said, amusement clearly heard in his voice and seen in his eyes.  
  
Sakura's face automatically turned into beet red as she let go of his shirt and said hurriedly, "Gomenne, Sasuke-kun, I didn't realize that it was your shirt that I'd grabbed hold of!"  
  
"That's ok," Sasuke said as he got out of the carriage and went to the other side of it to open the door for Sakura and to help her get out of it.  
  
'Are my eyes deceiving me, or did I actually see a smile in his eyes earlier?' Sakura wondered as she followed him and everyone else out of the carousel area.  
  
"That was fun!" Chii exclaimed, her onyx eyes shining brightly. "Can we do it again?! Can we?! Please?!"  
  
"There are other rides to go on, Chii-chan," Sakura said as she linked her hands once again with her little 'musume'.  
  
"Your Sa-," Sasuke began to say but stopped and chuckled in hesitance when he saw the expectant look on Chii's face. "I mean, your 'okaa-san's' right, Chii-chan," he said hurriedly as the annoyingly uncontrollable blush spread to his whole face.  
  
"Then let's go on that one!" Chii said, pointing to another ride with her free hand.  
  
'This is gonna be a long day,' Sasuke thought as he let Sakura gently claim his hand so that he would be dragged by Kakashi, Seijin and Chii as well.  
  
The next ride Chii had chosen was a water ride in which you get to paddle from one side to the other side of this huge lake on all sorts of different vehicles.  
  
And it just so happens that they were left with three vehicles again.  
  
'Three seems to be our lucky number today,' Sasuke thought as he quickly led Sakura to the two-passenger vehicle which looked a lot spacious than the other one before Kakashi could even move his mouth.  
  
Kakashi had a disappointed look on his face but his face suddenly brightened as he caught hold of Seijin's hand and helped her into the other two-passenger vehicle, which was a serpent whose slinky body would move just like a snake's would every time they paddled.  
  
By that time, Chii had already started paddling happily in her small, one-passenger grey dolphin vehicle that would flip its fins upwards and downwards every time she paddled.  
  
Meanwhile, Sasuke and Sakura paddled their two-passenger, white swan vehicle which lifted its wings upwards and downwards every time they paddled, in a relaxed way, feeling relieved that the seat this time was at least a bit more spacious than the one they had to ride on earlier.  
  
Kakashi decided to spoil their finally relaxed moment of the day by saying, "The last one to the other side of the lake is a sore loser!"  
  
Identical determined looks covered Sasuke and Sakura's faces as they automatically linked hands and Sakura turned over to him to say, "We'll show him who's the loser, won't we, Sasuke-kun?" while grinning at the same time.  
  
"Aa," Sasuke replied before they started paddling at such a force that it made huge splashes occur beside them as they streaked through the lake like a streak of lightning, oblivious to the other people around them, who stared at them for the third time that day.  
  
Kakashi and Seijin were at the same break-necking speed and the four of them weren't that much further away from the 'finish line' when suddenly, a small but faster vehicle covered by the huge splashes it made streaked past them and reached to the finish line first.  
  
Four jaws dropped open wide with shock when they saw who the winner was.  
  
The winner was Chii.  
  
'This is going to be a long day-,' Sasuke thought as he got off the swan (after helping Sakura get out of it again) before laying a 'proud' hand on his little 'musume's' black head. 'But it's going to be one long and interesting day.'  
  
A small smile touched his lips as he thought that and he didn't realize that Sakura had noticed him smile was smiling too.  
  
Author's words: As usual, I hope this chapter's alright. Don't forget to send me a review if you like it or a flame if you hate it. Ja ne. 


	8. NOTICE!

NOT A CHAPTER, BUT A NOTICE FROM AMYST! PLEASE READ!!  
  
First of all, I'd like to say sorry to those whom I scared the heck out of when they saw the title above (I thought it was best for me to type all the letters in capital letters, so I could get attention, so-). Anyway, the reason I uploaded this is because I need to tell you all some bad news-  
  
I have to stop updating for a while-until about two months from now. I'll only start updating again after the 22nd of November. I'm really sorry for the short notice and inconvenience. I hope you guys aren't mad at me! T_T  
  
For those who are wondering why the heck I have to stop updating, then you guys should read my bio, because I typed the reason there.  
  
Anyway, I really hope you guys don't mind waiting until the date I've mentioned. Arigato gozaimasu for sending me reviews and giving me support all this while. Again, I'd like to say, "GOMENNASAI!"  
  
I hope I survive my big exam so that I could post more chapters- Ok, I guess that's it. I have to do my holiday homework (School starts tomorrow too! T-T), feed my baby kittens; DR and R (DR stands for 'Dark Red' and R stands for 'Red'. I know they're silly names, but silly as they are, the occupants of the names are really cute! =-_-=, =^-^=) and take a bath now, so ja ne and see you guys after November the 22nd! *Runs away quickly because is afraid that she is going to terrorized by angry reviewers*  
  
PS: I've also typed the answers to some of my reviewers for the seventh chapter of my story in here, so if you're one then read on if you want to find out my reply.  
  
Author's words:  
  
To: Fruit-tea1 ~ Hehehe, I'm glad you didn't miss my fanfic. Arigato for saying that this fanfic of mine is cute. Really, I never do get tired of hearing people say that Chii-chan is so cute ^_^ I'm glad that I made you happy by reading this fanfic of mine.  
  
To: yun ~ Hehehe, if you do have useful comments as to how I can improve my story, then I don't mind listening to them. Arigato for saying that I'm doing a wonderful job. Can you please tell me who's ooc, because I'm not sure who is-  
  
To: Cookie6 ~ Hehehe, I like reading that part as well. Chii is undeniably cute! ^_*  
  
To: x-cry-death ~ Anyone would love Chii, since she's so cute! ^-^ What do you mean by, 'I think. . .'? Another cute kitty sign!  
  
To: pocky no miko ~ If the three of them entered a competition in which you had to be the best family although you're not married or related by blood, then I bet they'll win first place! ^o^ I'll try my best to keep up the good work.  
  
To: vivian ~ I'm glad you love it.  
  
To: Love From Vikky ~ I know what you mean, I want to go on that ride and the carousel ride too! *sighs* If only such rides existed- Well, actually, he said that sentence with the word 'lucky' in it in an amused and sarcastic way, and he wasn't referring to lucky as in lucky to be with Sakura. If I made him say that, then he'll be extremely ooc. 


	9. Chapter 8

Author's replies:  
  
To: Blackened Dove Offers a tissue I'm reallyx17 glad you like it. Arigato for saying that it's awesome and that I'm a great author. . . Dou Itashimashite. Yeah, you do. Again, dou itashimashite.  
  
To: Chelsey-chan Thanks for saying that it's a good chappie Jeez, I'm so predictable for you! Yeah, even though Sasuke is of course not really showing it.  
  
To: lilcharat624 I'm really sorry for being so mean! You can punish me if you want!  
  
To: pocky no miko Offers a tissue Arigato for saying good luck to me. Ahh! Put that flag down, you're embarrassing me! Thanks for the support, though.  
  
To: Fruit-tea 1 I know. . . Arigato for saying that my fic's cute. . . I'll still worry about it. . .  
  
To: KawaiiKenshin Thanks for saying that my fic's so good!  
  
To: Redmoonnight Chii is definitely, positively kawaii. I hope I can write more too. . .  
  
To: Kasiree Gomenne, I couldn't let you read a good fic on New Year. Very guilty expression on face I know, the three of them are so extremely kawaii! I'm not going to tell you what happens to him! Sticks tongue out Naughty, aren't we? (Or maybe I'm the one who's naughty. . .)  
  
To: Koori no Tenshi Arigato for liking my fic . . . I'm glad I didn't hear you actually laugh though, 'coz I read your review at night. . . --;  
  
To: li'l-CuPiD I know, I know, I'm terrible in keeping promises. . . Did I even promise to update in November? Hmm. . . Anyways, I'm really sorry for making you wait . . .  
  
To: Lady Light I know! --  
  
To: Padfoot da Darkwolf (alias Sirius, perhaps?) Arigato for saying it's cool, though when I read it again, I realized the characters were horribly OOC. . .  
  
Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto. Naruto belongs to the great Kishimoto Masashi-sensei, so please don't sue me, 'coz I've only um . . . about a dollar at the moment T-T  
  
A Chance to Forgive  
  
Chapter 8  
  
"Let's go on that one next!"  
  
"Chii-chan wants to go on that one!"  
  
"Onegai, can we go on that one?!"  
  
These were the sentences Chii uttered throughout the whole day as they went from one ride to the next. Every ride they rode on was one which they could go on together and they did every other activity together too. This of course didn't include going to the restroom together, but. . .  
  
"Seijin-chan, where are you off to?" Sakura asked when she saw her drift away from them after they finished riding their fifth ride.  
  
"The lady's room," she replied before disappearing into the said room.  
  
"Otou-san?" Chii suddenly spoke up, her hand in his.  
  
"Hai, Chii-chan?" he replied, looking down at his 'daughter-for-a- day'.  
  
"Where is Kakashi-niichan?"  
  
Sasuke and Sakura exchanged this 'look' before Sakura muttered, "Don't tell me he. . ."  
  
As though on cue, an extremely loud punching sound rang in the air. A second later, they found the silver-haired jounin sprawled on the ground, a swirl replacing his uncovered eye while his left cheek was so swollen it looked as though he was keeping a whole apple in his mouth.  
  
Everyone except Chii was sweat dropping when they saw him. Chii knelt next to him, unaware of everyone's stares as she poked his swollen cheek cautiously before asking, "Is Kakashi-niichan tired? I don't think I can wake him. . ."  
  
Before either of her 'parents' could answer, a very flushed Seijin suddenly appeared, looking extremely dangerous.  
  
Kakashi so conveniently chose that moment to wake up. "What did you that for, Seijin-chan?" he asked innocently as he feigned an injured look.  
  
Seijin only glared at him before turning her back on him and walking away.  
  
He suddenly appeared in front of her, his hands clasped together as he said, "Please forgive me!"  
  
She only walked away and he repeated what he just did, except this time, he was kneeling. She again walked away, as she didn't plan to be merciful this once. He did the same thing again, except his whole body was bowing down this time.  
  
Seijin was about to forgive him when a voice said, "Oho Kakashi, I'd never thought I'd see you beg like this."  
  
All of them turned their heads to see who the voice belonged to. It was Asuma, accompanied by his wife Kurenai (no surprise there) and their kids, a five year old boy who was the smaller version of his dad and a three year old girl who was her mom's younger self.  
  
Kakashi immediately stood up straight and said sheepishly, "Who's begging?"  
  
"Men and their pride," Kurenai said exasperatedly, rolling her eyes. She gave a friendly smile to Seijin, totally unfazed by their uncanny similarities. "Something tells me he did something perverted, ne?"  
  
Seijin just rolled her eyes like Kurenai did as an answer and smiled afterwards as well.  
  
They all chatted for a while, the men mostly about Kakashi's begging act, where it was mostly Kakashi denying (coolly, of course), Asuma teasing and Sasuke handing in a comment or two to help Asuma torture his former sensei (Oho, such a 'kind' Sasuke). Meanwhile, the women were 'discussing' about various topics, like men's prides and how 'Icha Icha Paradise' should definitely be banned, where Sakura was practically dragged into the conversation. The three kids talked excitedly about all the rides they had rode on and were exchanging experiences.  
  
Finally, after the conversations were exhausted, they went their separate ways, the kids looking forward to the rides they hadn't gone on, the ladies satisfied with their recent conversation while the men's exchange still wasn't complete, as the scarecrow stubbornly continued denying.  
  
Soon after, they met another familiar family, Neji, Tenten and their to-be-child.  
  
Neji was trying his best to hide his concern for his already halfway pregnant wife, but was failing miserably.  
  
"Slow down Tenten, you're just making it difficult for yourself," he was saying to his wife in a painfully worried tone as they neared them.  
  
"Don't be such a worry rat Neji, I'm going as slow as I can already," Tenten retorted exasperatedly, but was actually very pleased that she had such a caring husband.  
  
She spotted the group coming towards them and waved, "Sakura!"  
  
"Tenten-san! Neji-san! Ohayo!" she said in reply.  
  
"Ohayo!" Tenten said in reply, while her husband only nodded. He was still the same old Hyuuga Neji after all, except probably around his wife.  
  
Everyone exchanged greetings as well, except for the two anti-socials in the group (I don't think I have to tell you people who they are). They did, however, look at each other for a moment before looking away.  
  
In Seijin's case, though, she introduced herself to them instead of exchanging greetings.  
  
"So how's the baby, Tenten-san?" Sakura asked after all that was done.  
  
"Oh, he's doing great," she replied happily. "Though I wish he wouldn't do so much aerobics in there . . .," she added wryly.  
  
"Eh?" Sakura said, surprised. "How did you know it was going to be a boy? I thought you were going to wait until the baby was born, Tenten-san."  
  
"I was," Tenten said defensively. "But my dear husband here," she elbowed him in the stomach, "Was too impatient to wait until the baby was born."  
  
"Keh," was all Neji said. He did not deny it.  
  
This was the end of the conversation as everyone except the men congratulated the expecting couple.  
  
However, it seemed as though it was their fate to meet couples that day, as they yet again came across another couple, Shikamaru and Ino.  
  
"Ino-chan! Shikamaru!" Sakura said in greeting.  
  
"Sakura-chan!" Ino replied in a similar way.  
  
"Yo," was all Shikamaru said.  
  
Like before, greetings were exchanged (This is getting old and predictable, I know).  
  
"Ne, Ino-neechan?" Chii suddenly asked.  
  
"Nani, Chii-chan?"  
  
"Why isn't Ino-neechan's stomach big like Tenten-neechan?"  
  
Haha, such an innocent question . . . yet it burned two particular people's faces.  
  
"Um, because, um . . .," Ino stammered, and that was quite a rare sight, knowing how easily it was for her to talk.  
  
"We just got married," her husband supplied helpfully, blush still evident, though it somewhat dimmed.  
  
"Eh?" Chii-chan asked surprised. "Does it take time to grow?"  
  
"Uh, um, hai," Ino managed to stutter and her blush never dwindled, unlike Shikamaru's.  
  
Sakura decided to save her best friend. "So what have you two rode on so far?"  
  
Surprisingly, Shikamaru was the one who answered. "Oh, the relaxing ones, the others are too troublesome."  
  
Ino lost her blush and glared at him. "Actually, he's not allowing me to go on any nice rides."  
  
Before Sakura could ask her what she meant by that, Shikamaru stated, "I wouldn't want our child to be as troublesome as those rides."  
  
"Child?!" Sakura practically shrieked, drawing stares.  
  
"Mou, Shika-kun, I wanted to tell her!" Ino pouted.  
  
"When did you find out?" her best friend asked.  
  
"Yesterday," Ino said.  
  
"Congrats!" and from here began a string of congratulations.  
  
(Amyst: I think it's pretty obvious that I really want to finish this, huh? --;)  
  
Afterwards, they embarked on their separate ways, Shikamaru declining Sakura's offer to join them as he really did not want either him or his wife to go on any rides they were planning to go on, as they were too 'troublesome' as he called it.  
  
The group went on their way, feeling that Shikamaru and Ino were not the last familiar people they were going to bump into today.  
  
. . .  
  
Amyst: Takes a deep breath . . . Okay, you guys can pulverize me now.  
  
After being thoroughly pulverized by angry reviewers  
  
Amyst (who's bruised and cut in some places): If you guys wanna know the reason why I updated so extremely late, then tell me through a review, that is, if guys still wanna review. . .  
  
To Cookie6: I'm sorry for not replying your e-mail yet!! TT I'm such a jerk!  
  
To Tiqah (She's not a reviewer, curious reviewers, but she reads this story): JGN KO CUBA BUAT 'ATU'! 


	10. Chapter 9

A Chance to Forgive

.-.-.

Chapter 9

.-.-.

"Ah! Minna-san!"

. . .Oh yes. It seems that today was a day of reunion as; once again, another familiar face appeared, waving his hand enthusiastically to attract their attention.

"Lee-san! Mayu-san! Konichiwa!"

Upon nearing their group, everyone saw that Lee's companion, Mayu; was a beautiful lady with dark hair that fell past her shoulders in gentle waves and light brown eyes that seemed to gaze straight at them, though it was obvious that she couldn't see them.

"Ne, Mayu-neechan?" Chii asked after all necessary introductions were made.

Mayu knelt down to Chii's height with the guide of Chii's hands that had been tugging hers. "Hai, Chii-chan?"

And before anyone could stop her, the over curious little girl strikes again, asking the question they all were afraid she was going to ask, "Why do Mayu-neechan's eyes look so. . .umm. . ."

". . .blank?" Mayu supplied with an understanding expression on her face.

Chii nodded. Not that Mayu would've seen that, but then again Chii didn't know that.

"It's because I'm blind, Chii-chan. I can't see anything."

"Ee?" Chii cocked her head to the side cutely. "Does that mean that Mayu-neechan can't see Chii-chan?"

"Hai. But you know what, Chii-chan?"

"Nani?"

Mayu placed her hands on Chii's face gently, tracing the outlines. "I can still feel how you look like. So I know. . .that you're a really cute, good little girl, Chii-chan."

Chii blushed. She placed her hands on Mayu's face, surprising the others (including Mayu herself) who were watching their conversation silently. "And you're very pretty and nice, Mayu-neechan."

A beautiful smile graced Mayu's face, her blind eyes shining.

.-.-.

"Sayonara!" Chii waved to the engaged couple not long after, said couple waving back before they disappeared into the crowd.

She turned to look at the adults. . .her 'okaa-san', who was sighing in relief; her 'otou-san', who did not have any particular expression on his face, but at the same time she could tell he was also relieved for some reason; Kakashi-niichan, who had his hand on his face in a gesture of exasperation and Seijin-neechan, who was shaking her head amusedly. . .

. . .and so she asked innocently, looking positively clueless, "Ee? Is there something wrong, Okaa-san, Otou-san, Kakashi-niichan, Seijin-neechan?"

"Nothing's wrong, Chii-chan," Sakura denied, while thinking, 'Just glad that Lee-san and Mayu-san left before you could ask anymore awkward questions.'

Sweatdropping, (probably because he didn't think anyone, much less Chii, would notice that he was relieved as well), Sasuke didn't say anything.

Kakashi didn't seem to notice that Chii had asked a question, as he was very much stuck in his own world, muttering, "I'm never going to hear the end of this. . .Gai's probably going to accuse of me of bribing Chii-chan into asking Mayu-san that question. . ."

Seijin just smiled reassuringly at Chii, as she was still quite amused that such a young girl could ask the most awkward and outrageous of questions at the most inopportune moments.

And so Chii remained clueless, truly not getting the reason why the adults were behaving as they were, never mind that it was all because of her antics.

"Ne, ne!" she tugged Sakura's hand with her right hand and Sasuke's hand with her left pleadingly. "Let's go on another ride! Please, Otou-san, Okaa-san!"

Sakura smiled while Sasuke's eyes softened by an almost invisible notch, their 'daughter' in between them while the elder 'couple' trailed behind them, as they spent the rest of the afternoon away exploring the other rides.

.-.-.

"Now don't do anything I wouldn't do, Sasuke!" Kakashi said cheerfully as a farewell, hand raised in a wave as he and Seijin watched the young 'family' leave the carnival, as it was already dark.

"Of course, what he means is, 'Don't do anything he'd do'."

"Seijin!" they heard their ex-sensei complain woefully as they walked away, glad that their curious little charge was already asleep on Sasuke's back, or else another awkward question would've inevitably popped up, what with the blissfully sleeping girl's insatiable curiosity.

.-.-.

To be continued. . .?

.-.-.

. . .Yep. I have died countless deaths already due to all the swords that are being glared into me by anyone who was waiting for this chap. Luckily, I can resurrect myself. Anyways, thank you for reading 'A Chance to Forgive', #9.


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